- Frame is a lot lighter than the Nicolai
- longer in TT and longer rear end. In fact long full stop!
- Low BB
- Finish is awesome
- Frame detail is incredible - cable routing spot on, X-12 dropout is well simple and stiff, everything supplied with frame - even seat clamp and headset and correct adaptors to run 1 1/8 or tapered forks

After A Week:

- Hooooly crap, this thing is awesome! (sorry)
- Very stable at speed (from length and low BB)
- Suspension super-plush but very controlled
- Stable in the air and no odd suspension quirks
- Not much bob even with PP disengaged
- Riding position felt spot-on straight away (normally I'm fannying around with stem lengths. bar height etc)
- Corners VERY well
- Thought this would be a nightmare on tight switchbacks given the length but didn't really notice it over my massive, massive grin
- Some ghost shifting when pedalling through large rock gardens but think I need to adjust the mech a bit with the clutch etc.
- Nothing broke. Winner!

A big thanks to Mark at The Bike Chain, Edinburgh for sorting me out in a very short timeframe and being an all-round good chap.

Only ever seen one, being ridden up to Frankenstein's castle. That's despite them (well 301, 601 and 901's) seemingly being pretty popular in the German/Austrian MTB vids etc. (although I see a few Rockets have evicted a few 301's)

It's now got a KS Lev seatpost on it so cable routing is nice and neat. And I still have my 180mm forks on from recent Morzine and Fort William trips although I have gone back to the 140mm rocker arms from the 160mm I was using.

One piece of advice with the shim though, just make sure it is long enough as the frame does require a long minimum insertion.

when i turned up to my first local LBS night ride here in Germany i was the only guy on a hardtail and of the 6 fullys, 5 of them were 301s.

one of the guys there was the Liteville test-rider, Jan. lucky sod! ride everyday in all weather and report back.

really nice bikes. i was lucky enough to ride the shop 301 a few times (along with a few Bionicons) and it's the only FS that i've got on with. it's very stiff and responsive, although i had pumped so much air in the shock that it only sagged on BIG hits.

even 2nd hand they fetch good prices here in Germany. shame that its mostly lanky freaks that want to sell them... an M would be ok, but i want an S though, nice and flickable.
the only FS that i would consider buying

They sell them at Wellmans up in Rossdorf, aparantly there is quite a waiting list for them. I am very tempted by one, can be run 120 all round, or change the rocker for 140 rear and can take a 160 up front, could be a nice mid travel xc race machine or adapted for the enduro type stuff.

ps. we are going to have to get out for a ride sometime, I think you work at ESOC as well but haven't a clue who you are.

Oh I didn't know that, is it just not just that they don't come with the 120 rocker, but it can be bought as an extra?

It's a shame if they don't, that kind of rules it out for some of the stuff I wanted to do next year.

edit: acording to the liteville website

Travel:
The effective frame travel with the DT Swiss SSD 212L Tuned shock is either 120 mm, 140 mm or 160 mm and depends on the rocker arms selected for the setup. The different rocker arms also automatically adjust the geometry in order to provide a perfect ride for all situations for the chosen travel category when combined with a suitable suspension fork.

I used the sizing thingy before, and iirc it was borderline (Canyon and YT were similar I think). Change 1 body measurement (eg inside leg) by +/-1cm and it flips between sizes. Might have to pop over to Wellmanns.

I knew the 120 was dropped in the Mk10? probably because it was designed around the 140 and nobody bought the 120?

They do look well sorted and the geometry is spot on, on paper at least. It's not really a substitue for a Nicolai anything though as they're made in Taiwan, not Germany, so you're not getting something custom built just for you.

Not that will lessen the performance mind; just observing that they aren't really comparable.

I seriously considered one of these before I ordered my tailored Helius AM and the single biggest reason I discounted it was because I just felt it was too light.

It's a 160mm bike and so equivalent to the Helius AM and yet it's lighter than the AC? They come with five year transferable warranty and then a five year crash replacement warranty (all transferable - now where've you seen that before?) so they're backing it up but that's not the same as saying 'it's definitely not going to break'.

I dunno, it looks way cool and sorted but if one of the best engineered bikes in the world doesn't think it can offer longevity for everyone at less than 3.1kg, I just can't see how another company can be so sure with something that weighs 2.5kg! There's only so much bending of the laws of physics you can do!